Delta Bean and Ham Soup

In one version or another, I’ve had this spicy bean soup from the Louisiana Delta right up to the Texas border. The most memorable I’ve tasted was made with the highly spiced and smoked Cajun ham called tasso, but since tasso is still not that easy to come by outside the region, I’ve learned that aged country ham works almost as well. While few Louisiana cooks would bother to simmer the beans this long and turn part of them into a purée, I find that the extra time and effort transforms an o